Now seems like as good of a time as any to honor Mark Ruffalo. The 47-year-old actor is coming off of an Oscar nomination for his role in “Foxcatcher” and an Emmy nomination for his role in HBO’s “The Normal Heart” and he can be seen this May in possibly the biggest movie of the year, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” where he’ll reprise his role as everyone’s favorite temperamental superhero, Hulk. It makes sense that the Gene Siskel Film Center and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is presenting Ruffalo with its Renaissance Award June 6 at the Ritz Carlton Chicago Hotel.

The event will feature Ruffalo discussing his career with a yet-to-be-named moderator (usually it’s an actor or director the honoree has worked with) and raises money for the Gene Siskel Film Center.

It’s probably no coincidence that this year’s ceremony will once again feature a former Robert Downey Jr. co-star (both men starred in “The Avengers”, as did 2013 Renaissance Award recipient Gwyneth Paltrow). Downey...

Going on a first date can be awkward, but watching other people on a first date? Still pretty awkward, but also potentially entertaining, which is why Shed Media turned the experience into a UK reality show called “First Dates.” Now Shed Media is teaming up with Ellen DeGeneres’ A Very Good Production to bring the show to NBC, with filming scheduled to take place in Chicago beginning in July.

Each of the eight episodes will feature a variety of first dates taking place at the same restaurant on the same night.

“Chicago is a quintessential American city," said Paul Telegdy, NBC's president of late-night and alternative programming, via email. “It has a salt-of-the-earth spirit with heartland values, yet is cosmopolitan and youthful. We love that the people featured on these dates will be able to speak to life experiences wherever they’re from.”

Single people interested in appearing on “First Dates” can go to firstdatescasting.com to fill out an application. Sample questions: “Why do you...

Rather than retire after his 20-plus years as host of “The Tonight Show,” Jay Leno has opted to tour the country performing at comedy clubs, corporate gigs and charity events. It’s not what most of us would do if we were in Leno’s situation, but good for him. I’m sure the charities in particular are glad to have him.

One of those charities is Make-A-Wish Illinois, which has booked Leno for its Wish Ball gala May 16 at Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom. Leno previously performed at Wish Ball in 2003 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel. The $600-per-person black tie fundraiser benefts the Make-A-Wish foundation, which grants wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Backstreet Boys are now in the beauty business. Three of the members of the “I Want it That Way” boy band were in town to promote their new eye lash extending product, Lash Now, March 22 at the America’s Beauty Show at McCormick Place. Here’s where they dined the night before and a couple other celeb sightings from around the Chicago area:

Rapper/actor Common performs at the Tanqueray Trunk Show at Ovation March 28, 2015.

Rapper/actor Common performs at the Tanqueray Trunk Show at Ovation March 28, 2015. (Dorothy Hong)

You know a TV series is doing something right when a celebrity agrees to appear on the show without even knowing what his role will be. That’s what happened with Chicago rapper-turned-actor Common, who confirmed that he will appear on Fox’s “Empire.”

“We just have to figure out the perfect fit for me — the right character for me to play,” Common said over the phone from Los Angeles Friday. (Saturday he spoke and performed at the entrepreneur-focused Tanqueray Trunk Show at Ovation in West Town.) “I’m an actor, so I wouldn’t want to just go on ‘Empire’ as Common. I’d like to go as a character.”

Common (real name: Lonnie Lynn) can currently be seen in the film “Run All Night,” where he was given the always difficult task of killing Liam Neeson. Variety reported last week Common will appear in the action thriller “Hunter Killer” with Billy Bob Thornton and Gerard Butler.

When he makes his appearance on “Empire,” he’ll join an already impressive list of celebrities that have participated...

"Empire" actors Yazz, left, and Jussie Smollett backstage on March 27, 2015, at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, where they signed copies of the "Empire" soundtrack.

"Empire" actors Yazz, left, and Jussie Smollett backstage on March 27, 2015, at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, where they signed copies of the "Empire" soundtrack. (Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune)

We all like to think that fame wouldn’t change us or the people around us. We are convinced we would be the same exact person we’ve always been, no matter the circumstances. Those horror stories about tantrums and ego trips? Not us. No way. But none of us really know for sure how we would handle fame and what it entails until we’ve actually experienced it — Jussie Smollett and Yazz The Greatest certainly didn’t.

The “Empire” co-stars just recently enrolled in Fame 101. Both were for the most part unknown when they arrived in Chicago last year to film the Fox drama, which centers on hard-to-like Empire Entertainment CEO Lucious Lyon (played by Terrence Howard) and his dysfunctional family. Smollett, who plays Lyon’s middle son Jamal, an R&B singer who happens to be gay, had appeared in 1992’s “The Mighty Ducks” and in the short-lived ABC sitcom “On Our Own” in the mid-’90s but still hadn’t had his big break. Yazz, who plays youngest son Hakeem, a spoiled rapper with mother issues, was...